Citizens' intentions to use e-government during the COVID-19 pandemic: integrating the technology acceptance model and perceived risk theory

PurposeBased on the technology acceptance model (TAM) and perceived risk theory (PRT), this study proposes a new model for exploring factors affecting citizens' intentions to use e-government in the Vietnamese context during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe current study takes the form of a case study of the Vietnam context and employs a quantitative method. An Internet-based survey was conducted in Vietnam and was completed by 441 respondents. Hypotheses were tested using a two-stage structural equation model. SPSS 22 and AMOS 20 software were used for primary data analysis.FindingsThe findings reveal that factors of TAM are still valuable in predicting citizens' intentions to use e-government services during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the factor of PRT, namely, perceived risk of COVID-19 pandemic, also affects citizens' intentions to use e-government services. Attitudes toward e-government play a mediating role in the relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived risk and citizens' intentions to use e-government. Examining the predictive power of TAM and PRT factors, it can be seen that TAM factors have a higher total effect on citizens' intentions to use e-government, compared to PRT factor.Originality/valueThe present study demonstrates a new model for exploring factors affecting citizens' intentions to use e-government during the COVID-19 era. It explored the effectiveness of combining TAM and PRT as well as the predictive power of each factors in an integrated model aimed at predicting citizens' intentions in the emergency context like COVID-19. This study helps us improve our understanding of e-government usage and would be of particular interest to policymakers and service providers of e-system.

Portfolio Diversification during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Do Vaccinations Matter?☆

The COVID-19 vaccine rollout expects to mitigate the severe negative impacts of the pandemic on global financial markets. Our study provides supporting evidence for this expectation. We find robust evidence that vaccinations significantly reduce the cross-country stock volatility connectedness among G7 nations, suggesting that the diversification benefits of an international equity portfolio may be enhanced during the pandemic when vaccinations accelerate. We present two explanations for this result. First, the vaccine deployment improves stock market return and decreases individual stock market volatility. Second, the vaccine rollout helps a country's stock market be more resilient to exogenous shocks. We further demonstrate that a global portfolio using a tactical allocation rule based on the intensity of vaccinations can outperform a buy-and-hold portfolio in terms of risk-adjusted returns.